Greetings are an essential
aspect of Senegalese culture the importance of which can
never be over-emphasized. Many development workers who
have lived in a village can attest to the amount of time
spent going through the greetings when one Senegalese
meets another during the day. The exchange of greetings
is the key to successful interaction with Senegalese
people at every level, whether in the market, on the
street, in the office, or over the telephone.
People are taken aback if you do
not greet first before beginning a conversation even if
you just want to ask a question. When you address someone
to ask for somebody without greeting first, you will get
the response "s/he went to learn how to greet", which is
a nice way of saying that you are rude. Greeting serves
as an icebreaker and will make the person you greet feel
better disposed toward you. Greeting in a local language
is recommended ("Salaamalekum"), but a French 'Bonjour'
will do.
For foreigners, these greetings may
seem a meaningless waste of time because they are always
the same and quite lengthy. You may also be baffled to
see a Senegalese doing something you consider "really
important" stop everything to spend ten minutes greeting
a friend s/he has seen just hours ago. But once again it
is because greeting acknowledges the existence of another
human being and taking the time to relate to him or her
in a personal way is a priority in Senegalese society
which helps achieve the goal of harmony and peace in the
community.
Every member of the community is
expected to greet every other member of the community
regardless of status or wealth. Indeed, the greetings are
a way for Senegalese to show respect for every member of
the community, rich or poor, noble or of a low caste
because every member has an important role to
fulfill.
Shaking hands is also a part of the
greeting process. People shake hands as often as they see
each other during different times of the day. Women,
especially in villages, are not normally expected to
shake hands when greeting. When greeting a group of
people or someone from a distance, raising clasped hands
will take the place of a handshake. When one is working
or eating, the arm may be offered instead. Senegalese
people follow a certain protocol for greeting elders:
greeting an elder first and avoiding direct eye contact.
Also, physical affection for a loved one or emotion in
general is not openly shown in public. Note that in
shaking hands the right hand is always used.
It is also interesting to note that
Senegalese people often express anger, not by hostile
words or threats, but by refusing to greet the person.
This is considered a great insult denoting a lack of
respect or outright contempt for the individual. This is
important to remember since in Ireland a "hello" and a
wave of the hand are enough to show the pleasure you get
from seeing someone. If a Senegalese is asked why he
spends so much time greeting, repeating the family name
over and over, he would reply that he is not only saying
the name of the individual with whom he is speaking, but
that he is also acknowledging that person's entire
family, the ancestors as well as the living and the
history of the family.
Foreigners living in Senegal
(especially in a traditional village) must realise then
that they may hurt people's feelings by not greeting
every individual with whom they come into contact even if
the other is in the middle of a business transaction, a
discussion with someone else, reading etc. This can be
exasperating if the foreigners think that Senegalese
people have the same priorities as they dorespect for
privacy, work, time, etc. They don't understand the
cultural significance of showing concern for the well
being of the individual and his family circle by means of
the greeting ritual.
